


Pets In The Lab

by FollowTheFirefly



Category: Code Geass
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-03
Updated: 2016-04-03
Packaged: 2018-05-30 21:58:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,130
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6442504
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FollowTheFirefly/pseuds/FollowTheFirefly
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Cecile and Suzaku are both surprised by Lloyd's choice of a pet for the lab.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Lloyd's Idea

**Author's Note:**

> I actually had the idea for this back in college when I was first introduced to Code Geass, but I remembered it when I was watching R1 earlier tonight.

In all of the admittedly limited days he'd spent working with Cécile and Lloyd, Suzaku had seen some strange things. He hadn’t expected to ever have a boss who traveled via scooting around in a wheelie chair around the lab instead of walking around like most people. Nor did he ever expect to have a coworker who compared her cooking to that of Gordon Ramsey while in actuality most of it was completely inedible. Still, none of this could have prepared him for the day when Lloyd announced that they would be taking in a pet. 

“A pet?” Suzaku asked hesitantly as they prepared breakfast. “What kind of a pet?” 

“That’s the surprise,” Lloyd said mysteriously as he stood by the coffee pot.

“But why are we getting a pet in the first place?” Cécile wanted to know, turning away from the eggs that she was meant to be cooking on the stove to face Lloyd. “You’ve never expressed any interest in one before now.”

“As an exercise of team togetherness?” As with many of Lloyd’s explanations, it made absolutely no sense whatsoever. “I really just think we should keep a pet around here. Wouldn’t it be fun?” 

“So what, are we having a dog piloting the Lancelot?” Suzaku was only half joking, but he had to admit that there was always the possibility of Lloyd doing such a thing.

“Don’t be absurd, Suzaku,” Lloyd scoffed as he poured coffee into some chipped mugs and carried them over to the table. “Nothing as ridiculous as that.”

“Because we all remember the time when you tried to get that pigeon to pilot it,” Cécile added some wasabi to the eggs as she stirred them around the pan before depositing them into bowls. 

“It had been sitting there for days, so it had to be put to work!” Lloyd exclaimed.

“It was a pigeon, Lloyd. It wasn’t about to go off into combat with the Knightmare,” Suzaku retorted.

“Well no, I won’t be having a dog do that,” Lloyd strode across the kitchen and grabbed the sugar and creamer from the cupboard.

“This is making me nervous,” Suzaku looked hesitantly at Cécile before bringing over some toast on a plate. 

“so when are we getting this pet of yours, Lloyd?” Cécile somehow managed to balance three bowls of eggs in her hands and brought them over to the table before taking a seat.

“I think I’ll go after lunch today,” Lloyd said thoughtfully while he nibbled on a piece of toast.

“Should we be expecting a kitten or a giant dog?” Suzaku asked, spreading marmalade on his own toast.

“Really, as long as it isn’t a velociraptor, I think we’re safe,” Cécile said while she added quite a bit of jam to her eggs.

“Honestly, you two are worrying too much about it,” Lloyd shrugged. “Just worry about work and everything will be fine.”

-

With as much work as they had that day, it was quite easy for Cécile and Suzaku to forget about Lloyd’s plan. They saw him carrying a few boxes throughout the day but when they asked him about it, all they got out of him was that they were supplies for the mysterious new pet that had yet to be revealed.

“Maybe it really is a velociraptor,” Suzaku said to Cécile as Lloyd carted off a large box containing what appeared to be coconut fibers. “I wouldn’t put it past him.”

It wasn’t until later that night when they were cleaning up dinner that they remembered that they had yet to see the new pet that Lloyd had picked out. He hadn’t mentioned a word about it at dinner, which struck the two as rather peculiar. 

“So are we going to see it at some point, Lloyd?” Cécile handed some dirty dishes to the scientist who was stuck with dish duty for the day and found himself standing at the sink.

“After I feed them,” Lloyd responded cheerfully, taking the dishes Cécile had given him and dunked them in the sink full of dishwater. 

Cécile and Suzaku exchanged an uneasy glance.

“Them?” Suzaku repeated nervously.

“Yes,” Lloyd answered.

“And why are we getting more than one of whatever it is?” Cécile wondered, staring at Lloyd in mounting confusion.

“Well, I couldn’t just get one, now could I?” Lloyd protested, despite the fact that neither of his subordinates knew what he was talking about.

“We don’t even know what you got today,” Suzaku pointed out.

“I’ll go give them some food since the dishes are done and then I’ll bring them down,” Lloyd pulled the sink plug and dried off his hands with a nearby dishtowel before traipsing to the fridge.

“And what are you doing in there?” Suzaku sighed in exasperation.

“Getting food. What does it look like I’m doing?” Lloyd responded sarcastically.

“But we’ve just eaten!” Cécile protested.

“Not that it was all that edible to begin with,” Suzaku muttered under his breath so that Cécile couldn’t hear him.

“It’s food for the pets,” Lloyd replied like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“I give up,” Cécile threw her hands up in the air. “Either he’ll tell us or he won’t,”

“That’s a good girl, Cécile-kun,” Lloyd closed the door to the fridge and left the kitchen, taking several carrot sticks with him.

“Carrots?” Suzaku frowned. “Did he get us rabbits?” 

It was a full twenty minutes before either of them saw Lloyd again. Cécile had taken out her puzzle (a 5000 piece puzzle Lloyd had given her for her birthday that featured diving birds of prey, something she’d never be able to figure out) and had enlisted Suzaku’s help in finishing it. They’d made some substantial progress when Lloyd reappeared carrying a small bix in his hands. 

“Took you long enough,” Suzaku didn’t look up from the puzzle. 

“They took longer eating than I had anticipated,” Lloyd said, setting the box down on the counter.

“So how many rabbits did you get?” Cécile stood up, walked over to the box and peered inside.

“Not rabbits,” Lloyd reached into the box and pulled out two hermit crabs, one being quite a bit bigger than the other.

“Hermit crabs?” Suzaku had finally been pulled away from the puzzle and had to admit that he was surprised by Lloyd’s choice of a pet.

“I thought you’d go for something a bit fluffier,” Cécile commented, taking the smallest one from him and letting it run around her hand.

“So let me guess- you’ve already named them, haven’t you?” Suzaku assumed, walking over to where Lloyd was standing and kneeling down to gaze at the hermit crab.

“The one Cécile has is Magnhild,” Lloyd noted, shifting his hand as the larger hermit crab climbed over his fingers, antennae moving around wildly. “This one is Valkyrie.”

“Go figure that you’d give them ridiculous names,” Cécile rolled her eyes.

“Clearly you aren’t well versed in Norse mythology,” Lloyd commented.

“Just as long as you don’t let them loose in the lab or anything like that,” Cécile said, watching Magnhild run around her hand. “So how will we divide up the duties for them?”

“I’ve already printed info sheets and taped them to your work stations,” Lloyd said cheerfully. 

“Of course you did,” Suzaku groaned.

“Don’t let this get out of hand, okay?” Cécile said to Lloyd, who had set Valkyrie on the floor and was watching her scuttle around on the tiles.

“It can’t be worse than having a dog to take care of,” Lloyd said with a shrug. “Besides, I have all of the equipment set up and it seems easy enough to maintain them. How hard could this possibly be?”


	2. Hermit Crabs Don't Make Good Lab Assistants

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I got this idea back in college, but it was a little different. I was toying between using hermit crabs or anoles but since I actually own hermit crabs, I went with what I know. Magnhild and Valkyrie are two of my own hermit crabs and had them in mind when I was writing this one.

“I take it that Lloyd is out doing the shopping again?”

“Yes, he said that he was going to buy more salad,” Cécile answered Suzaku from where she sat by the computers in the lab hangar bay. “I’m glad that he’s finally eating something more than pudding, but I’ve never seen anyone eat so many salads in my life.”

“Besides a rabbit, you mean?” Suzaku cracked a smile as he climbed the stairs to the computer station and joined Cécile. “But doesn’t he have that meeting with the higher ups today? How can he take the grocery duty today?”

“He does, but it should be over by now,” Cécile typed away at the keyboard, occasionally stopping to jot something down in her notebook next to the modem.

“I’m glad to see him doing something with other humans for a change,” Suzaku said with a shrug, sitting down in the seat next to Cécile. “He’s been obsessed with those hermit crabs for days now.”

“Oh that’s nothing. The other day, he insisted that one of them actually help with the research for the Lancelot,” Cécile said with a sigh, though she should have known that Lloyd would do such a thing.

“Seriously?” Suzaku looked at Cécile in surprise. “Someone needs to stop him before this goes too far.”

“I just hope that he realizes it on his own,” Cécile glanced down at her notes for a second before her eyes found their way back to the monitor. “Our work isn’t suffering yet, but you know how he gets when he gets obsessed with something.”

“Like with the snow peas craze,” Suzaku said, remembering an incident that occurred several months prior. “At any rate, I hope he remembers to get those parts for the Lancelot before he comes back. He’s been going on about them for ages now.”

“No need to worry about that.”

Suzaku had barely finished his sentence when Lloyd strode into the hangar bay, a pudding cup and spoon in one hand and the smaller hermit crab in the other.

“Still haven’t given up on pudding, I see,” Suzaku noted, pulling out his homework and highlighters. 

“I don’t think any force on this planet will stop that from happening,” Cécile responded before she turned to Lloyd and said, “So I’m guessing that you got more salad for your pets?”

“They’re pets for all of us,” Lloyd retorted, standing behind Cécile and reading the notes on her computer monitor.

“No, I’m pretty sure that they’re just yours, Lloyd,” Cécile said, returning to her work.

“I’m surprised you haven’t tried to have them pilot any of the Knightmare frames yet,” Suzaku said, his eyes scanning the textbook in front of him. 

“No, but Magnhild was trying to help me look over my repair notes last night,” Lloyd said as he set the little hermit crab down on Cécile’s keyboard.

“Oh no, not this again, Lloyd,” Cécile groaned as Magnhild climbed over the keys. “Last time you did this, it somehow deleted a whole week’s worth of data.”

“You know Valkyrie didn’t mean anything by it,” Lloyd said. “She just wanted to be a good lab assistant.”

“Hermit crabs can’t be lab assistants,” Suzaku felt compelled to say as he twisted the cap off of his highlighter.

“Still, maybe you shouldn’t let them loose in the lab,” Cécile said, her eyes on her boss. “I suppose the living area is okay, but if something were to happen in the lab, there would be serious consequences.”

“Maybe you’ve got a point,” Lloyd reached down to the keyboard and allowed the hermit crab to climb up onto his hand. “Maybe this is a good chance to try out the new device I made for them.”

“Device?” Suzaku asked hesitantly, tearing his eyes away from his homework.

“Please tell me that you haven’t made miniature Knightmare frames for them,” Cécile was almost afraid to hear what his answer would be.

“No, don’t be absurd,” Lloyd laughed, though this didn’t make his subordinates feel any better about the matter.

“Well, maybe this would be a good place to call it a day,” Cécile said, looking at the clock and noticing the late hour. “I should probably start dinner sometime soon.”

“And what inedible thing are we having tonight?” Lloyd asked hesitantly. 

“My food is edible!” Cécile protested, shooting a glare in Lloyd’s direction.

“Sometimes,” Suzaku turned over a corner in his book before closing it. 

“At any rate, let’s close up for the day,” Cécile gestured Lloyd and Suzaku out of the lab and into the corridor.

“So you can make something else completely inedible?” Lloyd arched an eyebrow as he sauntered out of the lab, locking the door behind him.

-

“Miss Cécile, are you sure you wouldn’t like some help?” 

A rather strange odor had filled the kitchen and Suzaku couldn’t say that it was a particularly pleasant one. Cécile had been eager to try a new recipe for meatloaf that she’d found online. It seemed simple enough but despite this, she seemed to be having some real problems with it.

Though maybe things would be going a bit easier if she hadn’t substituted ketchup for peach jam. Or the pepper for cinnamon.

“If you would hand me the chocolate syrup, I’d appreciate it,” Cécile said as she stared at the recipe on the laptop from where it sat on the counter.

“The chocolate syrup?” Suzaku frowned in confusion, though he really should have expected something so ludicrous from her.

“Yes, please,” Cécile nodded, scrolling up and down the page.

Without a word, Suzaku stood and crossed the kitchen, grabbing the chocolate syrup from the counter and handed it to Cécile.

“Maybe I need more curry powder and less jelly?” Cécile thought out loud, clearly not realizing that this was not the problem.

“Or maybe you should skip it entirely and we can order pizza,” Lloyd said as he walked into the room, finishing off a cup of strawberry pudding and tossing it and the plastic spoon in the nearby trash can.

“You just want to get pizza again,” Suzaku rolled his eyes from where he sat at the table working on the communal crossword puzzle.

“There’s nothing wrong with getting pizza every now and then,” Lloyd walked over to the fridge and grabbed a can of soda, popping the tab and tossing it in the air. 

“We had it three days in a row last week,” Suzaku pointed out, flipping through the nearby dictionary.

“There’s still nothing wrong with that,” Lloyd shrugged. “And what are you even trying to make, Cécile-kun?” 

“Meatloaf,” Cécile decided that she’d given up on trying to make it any better and just threw it into the oven.

“Well, I’m no master chef, but I can tell you that meatloaf isn’t meant to smell like that,” Lloyd offhandedly as he walked out of the room and into the living room.

“Maybe it’ll smell better when it’s done,” Cécile sighed in defeat as she sat down across from Suzaku, glancing at the crossword puzzle he was working on. 

“We can only hope,” Suzaku responded, which she chose to ignore.

“So how are your classes going?” Cécile changed the subject. “Are you having fun on the student council?”

“Our president is a bit out there, but she has the best intentions at heart,” Susaku said with a smile, rubbing the back of his neck. “Last week, she had us throw a birthday party for Arthur.”

“A birthday party for a cat?” Cécile had to admit that she had never heard of such a thing.

“it was quite an affair,” Suzaku nodded. “That’s putting it lightly.”

“But at least you’re getting a chance at having a social life,” Cécile leaned her elbow against the table. “I know your work is important, but you need to enjoy your time in school while you can.”

“Well, the student council can certainly count as a social life,” Suzaku responded, scribbling some words in the crossword squares.

Cécile had been about to respond when the door to the living room opened and a round ball rolled into the kitchen. The two looked at each other for a few seconds and returned their gaze to the ball on the floor.

“Does that look like a little hamster ball to you?” Cécile questioned, getting up and walking over to the ball rolling around on the floor. 

“But we don’t have a hamster anymore,” Suzaku shook his head. “Not since the incident three months ago.”

“And I thought we got rid of all of the supplies,” Cécile added.

“Yeah, Lloyd and I carried out equipment all afternoon,” Suzaku went on. “We didn’t think it would take that long.”

“So where did this come-“ Cécile started to say before she stopped. “Okay, this is ridiculous.”

“What is it, Miss Cécile?” Suzaku’s curiosity got the best of him and he joined Cécile on the floor.

Upon closer inspection, he’d discovered that there was not a hamster inside the plastic ball, but Lloyd’s hermit crabs. He’d placed a carrot stick inside and was letting it act as an incentive for the animals to move the plastic ball around the kitchen floor.

“Lloyd!” Cécile shouted, knowing that her boss was likely to be around somewhere. “Why are the hermit crabs in the hamster ball?”

After a few seconds, Lloyd emerged from the living room reading a copy of one of his engineering magazines. He stopped when he felt the plastic ball hit the toe of his foot and he knelt down to check his pets.

“You guys got in here quickly, he said, picking up the ball and examining the hermit crabs.

“But what are they even doing in here?” Cécile stood up and faced Lloyd, her hands on her hips. “I thought we got rid of all of the equipment from the hamster fiasco?”

“I thought so too, but apparently one of the plastic balls found its way behind the couch,” Lloyd set the ball back on the floor and watched the hermit crabs scuttle around.

“And why are they in there?” Suzaku leaned back against the tiles. 

“To let them run around without getting stuck or lost, obviously,” Lloyd shrugged. “I mean, there’s no way that we can lose track of them this way.”

“I guess you could say that,” Suzaku had to agree. “But we’ll have to be careful not to trip on them.”

“Or give them any of Cécile’s cooking,” Lloyd added.

“I heard that,” Cécile glared at him.

“Well at any rate, it’s time to give Valkyrie and Magnhild their dinner,” Lloyd knelt down and picked up the plastic ball and held it up to his eyes. 

“Dare I ask what you’re going to give them?” Cécile asked. “What do they eat, anyway?”

“Just about anything,” Lloyd said as he walked back into the living room, carrying the hermit crabs in the plastic hamster ball. Suzaku and Cécile stared after him for a few seconds before they returned back to the table, realizing that the hermit crabs were likely going to be there for quite a while.


End file.
